Staples giving $100 off select tablets, what will you be buying?

If you've been holding off picking up an Android tablet simply due to cost then Staples wants your business. To entice you, they're now offering $100 off select tablet purchases with the coupon above. You'll need to print it off in order to use it but that's the easy part -- the hard part? Selecting what tablet you'll be buying. The coupon is valid through 7/30/11 at Staples locations across the U.S. with the Nook being the only Android tablet excluded.

Contest: Win 1 of 5 3-month Slacker Premium Radio subscriptions

Looking to try Slacker Premium Radio out? Although Slacker Radio has a basic free version available for all there is nothing like having on-demand access to Slacker’s whole music library in addition to ad-free customizable radio. Not forgetting the many other great features Slacker offers:

Search and listen to specific songs or albums

Cache radio stations, albums and playlists to your smartphone so you can listen without a connection (better battery life, no data usage and uninterrupted playback)

Create playlists by typing in songs or by adding them while you listen to Slacker Radio stations and even share them with others.

View and listen to real-time "top 50" charts for all Slacker genres based on listener and Slacker DJ interaction

Listen to an artist-specific station that will only play songs from a specific artist or band (i.e. Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix etc..)

Slacker, being the awesome folks they are -- want you to experience Slacker and as such have given us five free 3-month premium subscriptions. Rather then hoard them for ourselves, we figured you all are more deserving, so we're going to give them away. Drop some comments in the Android Central forums post and we'll pick out some winners. If you can't wait -- you'll find the Slacker Radio download link past the break.

T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide now available online

If you want to get your hands on T-Mobile's MyTouch 4G Slide, and don't want to wait for it to show up in stores on July 27, you can now place your order at T-Mobile website. The MyTouch 4G Slide (check out the initial review) is HTC's latest tech, thrown into a package with a horizontal sliding qwerty, and one heck of a camera. It will cost you $200 after contract and a pesky mail-in rebate, or $500 if you want to buy it outright. My first impressions tell me that it's a great update from the original MyTouch slider, or even the MyTouch 4G. We've got an ongoing Q&A thread in the forums, and I'll have a full detailed review shortly. If you're ready to buy, hit the source link and have at it!

This is the stock Netflix app, pulled from one phone and installed on the tablet. No hackery was involved -- we've never been crazy about people cracking open someone else's app in the first place. But this is pretty much fair game, and we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon watching Phineas and Ferb, or whatever else our preschool-age daughter has polluted our Netflix recommendations with.

Get your Samsung Galaxy S II now from Virgin Mobile Canada

OK, it might not be right now but you can at least take comfort in knowing your order is placed for one of the most anticipated Android devices out there these days. If you head on over to the Virgin Mobile website, you'll find the Samsung Galaxy S II available for $170 or $599 outright. We've reached out to some retail locations as well to inquire -- many of which stated they have stock available for pick up. In the meantime, you can check out our Samsung Galaxy S II review.

There have been quite a few people waiting for the Motorola Triumph to launch on Virgin Mobile since it was announced back in June. And it's finally available for purchase across major retailers for $299. The Motorola Triumph will be the first smartphone available on the new Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk plans that start at $35 for 300 anytime minutes and unlimited data and end at $55 for unlimited anytime minutes and unlimited data.

“As smartphone ownership continues to accelerate, we are thrilled to offer Virgin Mobile customers this exciting, compelling new handset from a device leader like Motorola,” said Mark Lederman, Business Line director, Virgin Mobile USA. “Motorola TRIUMPH is a leader in its class and provides users the freedom to enjoy unlimited data on Virgin Mobile, without overages or a contract.”

Android Quick App: FriendCaster Tab beta for Honeycomb tablets

For whatever reason, Facebook still has not released a Honeycomb-optimized version of its Android app. And we're kind of to the point where we don't care anymore, as third-party apps are doing the job nicely. Here we have Friendcaster, which currently is in beta for Honeycomb tablets.

Friendcaster has your basic Honeycomb design, which splits things up into columns or panes. On the far left you've got all the basic Facebook features -- News Feed, Profile, Friends, Photos, Check-ins, Messages, Groups, Events and Pages. Tap one, and they expand in the next column over. So you'll see your news feed. Or pictures, or messages, etc. Top on an individual update or photo, and they open in the next column over. Nice, simple design.

You've also got all the usual functions -- you can update your status, filter your stream, take a picture, upload a picture, refresh, see your notifications, or get app settings.

Our only real complaint in this beta is that there's a fat banner app that keeps popping up. We'll be more than happy to pay to get rid of it.

Harry Potter books coming to Android in October via Pottermore and Google Books

Calling all Muggles -- JK Rowling's Harry Potter series will finally be hitting e-readers this fall, and it'll be available on Android. There's a bit of a catch, as you'll actually be buying the books from the new Pottermore site in October. When you purchase, you'll have the option to save the book to your Google Books library. And from there, you can read on any Android smartphone or tablet (or any non-Android or iOS device that has a browser).

Google also announced that Google Checkout is the preferred third-party checkout for Pottermore. So if you've got an Android phone and have ever purchased an app from the Android Market, you're already set. More details are set to unfold leading up to the launch this fall.

PopCap games to be pre-loaded on Xperia Pro, Xperia Mini Pro

Game developer PopCap has announced that it's reached an agreement with Sony Ericsson to pre-load its "Games by PopCap" portal on the upcoming Xperia Pro and Xperia Mini Pro. The deal will see these phones shipping with trial versions of Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies, along with the full version Chuzzle. It'll also be the first chance for Android owners in Europe to get their hands on PopCap's games, as right now these only been available on the Amazon AppStore, which currently turns Europeans away at the door.

The Xperia Pro and Mini Pro are due to land sometime in the third quarter, although there's no firm release date for either device just yet. Join us after the jump for the full presser.

Android 101: Using WidgetLocker to represent Android Central

On a lot of the content I push out, whether it be a screenshot or a video, if my lockscreen makes itself known, there's usually a comment or two asking what lockscreen I'm using or what I set up and how, so folks can reproduce the same thing on their phone. I've decided to write a handy little guide for anyone hoping to do the same, and finally put the questions to rest.

Lenovo officially announces pair of Android tablets

IdeaPad K1 is the first Honeycomb tablet with Netflix

Lenovo this morning officially unwrapped a pair of Android Tablets -- the IdeaPad K1 and ThinkPad. Both tablets spot a 10.1-inch touchscreens *at 1280x800), NVIDIA's Tegra 2 processor and Android 3.1. The IdeaPad K1 -- which we spotted a day early at Office Depot in New York -- weighs 1.63 pounds and is the first Honeycomb tablet with Netflix support along with HDMI out.

HTC Wildfire S mini-review (Vodafone network)

One fortunate side-effect of all the craziness going on at the expensive end of the smartphone spectrum is that more-affordable devices are starting to become faster and better. Last year’s HTC Wildfire underwhelmed us a little, with its sub-par QVGA screen and relatively meager 384MB of RAM. But earlier this year HTC refreshed many of its mid-range products, and it’s arguably the Wildfire that’s received the biggest boost. The new HTC Wildfire S has a sharper, brighter screen, a faster CPU and more RAM than the original. And like the rest of HTC’s “S” series, it ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The Wildfire S remains a budget handset, though, selling for £180 on Pay As You Go from Vodafone UK, as well as being offered for free on contract. Read on to find out what kind of smartphone experience HTC has managed to cram into its tiniest Android handset to date.

Delta Air Lines' Android app just got a little update that brings a couple of cool features. If you're logged in, you can now view and change your seat assignments (provided there are any seats left), as well as view the standby/upgrade lists. It's not going to help you get to first class any quicker (you peasant), but it's another nice addition to a very nice mobile travel app.